{"id":62919,"date":"2026-07-18T13:40:10","date_gmt":"2026-07-18T13:40:10","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/hoo.central12.com\/fugic\/?guid=0a08d0b33053f0676fe0242694cc66a1"},"modified":"2026-07-18T13:40:10","modified_gmt":"2026-07-18T13:40:10","slug":"this-week-in-space-podcast-episode-219-spacex-goes-to-war","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hoo.central12.com\/fugic\/2026\/07\/18\/this-week-in-space-podcast-episode-219-spacex-goes-to-war\/","title":{"rendered":"This Week In Space podcast: Episode 219 \u2014 SpaceX Goes to War!"},"content":{"rendered":"\n                            \n                            <article>\n                                <div class=\"youtube-video\" data-nosnippet ><div class=\"video-aspect-box\"><iframe data-lazy-priority=\"high\" data-lazy-src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube-nocookie.com\/embed\/LbOARYbOt70\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div><\/div><p>On <a href=\"https:\/\/twit.tv\/shows\/this-week-in-space\/episodes\/219?autostart=false\"  rel=\"nofollow\">Episode 219 of This Week In Space<\/a>, Rod Pyle and Tariq Malik discuss the space headlines for the past few weeks.<br><br>It's been busy, and some exciting things are happening! A couple of  companies are moving into the space solar power arena \u2014 something we've  long advocated \u2014 and that's welcome progress. Starship is set to fly  Starship test number 13, and a lot is riding on this \u2014 the system is  overdue for some proof of concept to keep up with NASA's HLS contract.  <\/p><p>An exoplanet spotted a decade ago has shown signs of a potentially  habitable atmosphere; there are landslides \u2014 big ones \u2014 on Pluto, and  evidence of \"space candy\" sugars in an interstellar cloud are in the  news. Finally, SpaceX is doubling down on their big defense contracts  with a well-funded US Space Force. Join us for all the latest!<\/p><p><strong>Download or subscribe<\/strong> to this show at:<strong> <\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/twit.tv\/shows\/this-week-in-space\" >https:\/\/twit.tv\/shows\/this-week-in-space<\/a>.<br><br>Get episodes ad-free with Club TWiT at <a href=\"https:\/\/twit.tv\/clubtwit\" >https:\/\/twit.tv\/clubtwit<\/a> <\/p><h2 id=\"space-news-of-the-week\">Space news of the week<\/h2><ul><li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.space.com\/space-exploration\/launches-spacecraft\/spacexs-starship-flight-13-test-launch-aborts-at-last-second-video\">SpaceX's Starship Flight 13 test launch aborts at last second<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.space.com\/astronomy\/meteorite-that-crashed-through-new-jersey-house-could-hold-the-clues-to-lifes-origins\">Meteorite that crashed through New Jersey house could hold the clues to life's origins<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.space.com\/astronomy\/exoplanets\/astronomers-discover-1st-atmosphere-around-a-rocky-earth-like-planet-in-the-habitable-zone\">Astronomers discover 1st atmosphere around a rocky Earth-like planet in the habitable zone<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/directorates\/esdmd\/artemis-campaign-development-division\/human-landing-system-program\/how-nasas-artemis-iii-lander-test-will-pave-way-for-moon-landings\/\"  rel=\"nofollow\">How NASA\u2019s Artemis III Lander Test Will Pave Way for Moon Landings<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/blogs\/missions\/2026\/07\/16\/nasa-taps-spacexs-starlink-to-deliver-artemis-iii-imagery-from-orion\/\"  rel=\"nofollow\">NASA Taps SpaceX\u2019s Starlink to Deliver Artemis III Imagery from Orion<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/spacenews.com\/blue-origin-continues-work-on-lunar-landers-during-recovery-from-new-glenn-explosion\/\"  rel=\"nofollow\">Blue Origin continues work on lunar landers during recovery from New Glenn explosion<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.space.com\/space-exploration\/launches-spacecraft\/spacex-falcon-9-launch-sda-titl-3-military-satellites\">SpaceX launches 21 'data transport' satellites for US military<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.space.com\/space-exploration\/satellites\/reflect-orbital-just-got-permission-to-launch-its-1st-space-mirror-to-orbit-tens-of-thousands-more-could-follow\">The FCC just gave Reflect Orbital permission to launch its 1st space mirror to orbit. Tens of thousands more could follow<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/arstechnica.com\/space\/2026\/07\/what-happens-if-crew-dragon-stops-flying-in-the-2030s\/\"  rel=\"nofollow\">A \u201cdisaster waiting to happen\u201d? Industry officials worry about Crew Dragon availability.<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/science.nasa.gov\/blogs\/swift\/2026\/07\/15\/spacecraft-commissioning-on-track-for-mission-to-boost-nasas-swift\/\"  rel=\"nofollow\">Spacecraft Commissioning On Track for Mission to Boost NASA\u2019s Swift<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.space.com\/astronomy\/raspberry-sugar-spotted-in-interstellar-space-a-sweet-discovery-that-could-reveal-clues-about-lifes-origins\">Raspberry sugar spotted in interstellar space, a sweet discovery that could reveal clues about life's origins<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.diu.mil\/work-with-us\/submit-solution\/PROJ00685?utm_campaign=website&utm_medium=email&utm_source=sendgrid.com\"  rel=\"nofollow\">Defense Innovation Unit - Space Power Beaming<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/spacenews.com\/nature-study-identifies-a-new-way-to-spot-nuclear-weapons-in-orbit\/\"  rel=\"nofollow\">Nature study identifies a new way to spot nuclear weapons in orbit<\/a><\/li><\/ul><h2 id=\"model-falcon-9\">Model Falcon 9!<\/h2><div  class=\"fancy-box\"><div class=\"fancy_box-title\">TOP TELESCOPE PICK:<\/div><div class=\"fancy_box_body\"><figure class=\"van-image-figure \"  ><div class='image-full-width-wrapper'><div class='image-widthsetter' ><p class=\"vanilla-image-block\" style=\"padding-top:56.25%;\"><img id=\"cbAPCR7Y6HkbgamUsCtVj5\" name=\"celestron top telescope.jpg\" caption=\"\" alt=\"A Celestron telescope on a white background\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/cbAPCR7Y6HkbgamUsCtVj5.jpg\" mos=\"\" link=\"\" align=\"\" fullscreen=\"\" width=\"\" height=\"\" attribution=\"\" endorsement=\"\" class=\"pinterest-pin-exclude\"><\/p><\/div><\/div><figcaption itemprop=\"caption description\" class=\"\"><span class=\"credit\" itemprop=\"copyrightHolder\">(Image credit: Celestron)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure><p class=\"fancy-box__body-text\">Looking for a telescope to see planets and comets? We recommend the <a data-analytics-id=\"inline-link\" href=\"https:\/\/target.georiot.com\/Proxy.ashx?tsid=72128&GR_URL=https%3A%2F%2Famazon.com%2Fdp%2FB01L0EQLTI%3Ftag%3Dhawk-future-20%26ascsubtag%3Dspace-us-4730590304221485000-20\"  rel=\"nofollow\">Celestron Astro Fi 102<\/a> as the top pick in our <a data-analytics-id=\"inline-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.space.com\/31229-best-beginner-telescopes.html\">best beginner's telescope guide<\/a>.<\/p><\/div><\/div><p>Finally, did you know you can launch your own SpaceX rocket? Model rocket maker Estes' <a href=\"https:\/\/www.space.com\/spacex-falcon-9-estes-model-rocket\">stunning scale model of a Falcon 9 rocket<\/a> that you can pick up now. The launchable model is a detailed recreation of the Falcon 9 and retails for $149.99. You can <a href=\"https:\/\/estesrockets.com\/product\/002161-spacex-falcon-9\/\" >save 10% by using the code IN-COLLECTSPACE at checkout<\/a>, courtesy of our partners collectSPACE.com.<\/p><h2 id=\"about-this-week-in-space\">About This Week In Space<\/h2><p><a href=\"https:\/\/twit.tv\/shows\/this-week-in-space\" >This Week in Space<\/a> covers the new space age. Every Friday we take a deep dive into a fascinating topic. What's happening with the new race to the moon and other planets? When will SpaceX really send people to Mars? <\/p><p>Join Rod Pyle and Tariq Malik from <a href=\"https:\/\/www.space.com\/\" >Space.com<\/a> as they tackle those questions and more each week on Friday afternoons. You can subscribe today on your favorite podcatcher.<\/p>\n                                                            <\/article>\n                            \n                        ","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>On Episode 219 of This Week In Space, Rod Pyle and Tariq Malik discuss the space headlines for the past few weeks.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":594,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2800,2805],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-62919","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-entertainment","category-space-movies-amp-shows"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hoo.central12.com\/fugic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/62919"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hoo.central12.com\/fugic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hoo.central12.com\/fugic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hoo.central12.com\/fugic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/594"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hoo.central12.com\/fugic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=62919"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/hoo.central12.com\/fugic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/62919\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":63006,"href":"https:\/\/hoo.central12.com\/fugic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/62919\/revisions\/63006"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hoo.central12.com\/fugic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=62919"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hoo.central12.com\/fugic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=62919"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hoo.central12.com\/fugic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=62919"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}